Carbee will have three more years to make a difference, starting with Town Meeting on Saturday at the Francestown Elementary School.

A total of 497 voters, out of the 1,151 registered in Francestown, turned out at the polls. Carbee took 288 votes, while opponent William McAuley received 199. Ten voters either opted for a write-in candidate or did not vote in that category.

Carbee, who said he stood outside the town offices in the rain Tuesday from the time the polls opened at 10 a.m. until they closed at 7 p.m., said he called McAuley and congratulated him on a well-run race.

“I told him it was a gentleman’s race,” Carbee said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’m enjoying the victory now.”

Carbee said he really appreciates all those who turned out to vote in the inclement weather, and he thought the school ballot certainly had a lot to do with the high voter turnout in town.

Beginning at Town Meeting on Saturday, Carbee’s main focus will be to reestablish traffic on the 2nd N.H. Turnpike again, after the bridge was closed indefinitely late in December.

Carbee said he fully supports a proposal by Francestown Sand and Gravel employee Kris Stewart for a temporary one-lane bridge to be constructed for about $70,000. Stewart first proposed a bridge solution in January, but did not have the full backing of the Select Board.

Carbee is the exception.

Carbee said his first goal will be to look into the temporary bridge to relieve traffic on Red House Road — the detour route around the 2nd N.H. Turnpike bridge — and to eliminate any added critical response time for medical and fire personnel.

After permanent repairs are made to the 2nd N.H. Turnpike bridge, Carbee said the temporary bridge could potentially be moved to Woodward Hill Road, where another bridge is closed indefinitely.

This plan was discussed at the Francestown budget hearing in February, but did not receive much attention after that since the option for a temporary bridge was thought to be too costly, Select Board Chair Betsy Hardwick said in a previous interview with the Ledger-Transcript.

“That’s going to be the hot button of the day,” Carbee said, referring to Saturday’s Town Meeting.